Back in January, “nice guy” rapper Macklemore fueled collab rumours with a bedazzled selfie with pop star Kesha; rumours which were only confirmed when Gemini‘s, Macklemore’s upcoming sophomore solo record, tracklist was revealed, including Kesha-featuring track titled “Good Old Days.”
Although Gemini doesn’t include Macklemore’s longtime partner Ryan Lewis, it is jam-packed with other features from hot artists like Lil’ Yachty, Skylar Grey and Offset.
Acoustic piano sweeps across the track as Kesha subtly taps into the “Indie Pop Voice” common among pop stars like Halsey and Lorde, coloring that Top 40 lilt with a gravelly R&B flavor. When Macklemore’s verse kicks in, gentle drumming propels the song from a ballad into a mellow yet catchy pop song.
Macklemore raps about living in the moment and realizing that you might actually be living “the good old days” right now. Kesha’s beautifully and powerfully sung hook shares a similar sentiment: “I wish somebody would have told me that / That some day, these will be the good old days / All the love you won’t forget / And all these reckless nights you won’t regret / ‘Cause someday soon, your whole life’s gonna change / You’ll miss the magic of the good old days”
Working together, the two became very quick friends, and Macklemore heaped praise on Kesha during a recent Rolling Stone interview, calling her “a musician in every sense of the word.”
“Kesha, she is a great spirit,” said Macklemore. “She is someone that I walked into the room and I immediately just caught a vibe with and became friends with pretty instantaneously. […] She’s a musician, she’s a writer, she’s someone that is not afraid to try ideas in the studio, not afraid to get vulnerable in front of people, not scared to go for the high note when she doesn’t know if she can hit it or not. She is a musician in every sense of the word, and she’s hilarious.”
The song is a big win, and it comes at a time when both artists could use one: “Good Old Days” is yet another exclamation point on the triumph that has been Kesha’s glorious 2017 comeback, and Macklemore is fresh off coming away from a head-on car crash with basically no scratches to his name.
Check out the new single below.
Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna
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